Why do clouds appear grey, when they appear white as we fly over them? Please give as much detail as possible, for I have seen a lone grey cloud, and the sun shining on it doesn't make sense, as the others were white.

Why did I see a lone grey cloud whilst in the air?

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by Mr Fixit on June 19th, 2009

Since I did not see that which you are desribing, I can only speculate. However, I would suggest that the cloud that you saw may not have been made of water vapor.

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by Glenn Blaylock on June 19th, 2009

Thanks anyway mate, but it was.

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by Mr Fixit on June 19th, 2009

Okay, so why from above, was a grey cloud possible to see? It should have been white, yes?

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by Mr Fixit on June 19th, 2009

Hard to answer in a short time but think of this. The sun is made up of many different colors, even colors you can not see because the human eye can not handle it. INside the cloud or crystals of water. If you were to put light through a crystal it would reflect light not only in one direction but in many different directions. The thickness and height is what turns a cloud gray. The denser the cloud, the less light that reflects through it and when its about to rain clouds are fairly thick with the water molecules turning them gray, atleast to the human eye. I hope this makes some sense.

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by skel1977 on June 19th, 2009

I do appreciate that it is how light is reflected, and hence why some clouds are white in appearance where others are grey, but from above, a cloud has ample sunlight, and the grey cloud wasn't a big huge one, but a little one. Even thinly sparsed across the sky. I Think you are right with the water molecules, but the former answers didn't highlight this except for the top and bottom of a cloud. The clouds I saw were thin, and grey, and I was above them. I think the ONLY correct answer to this cloud was the water molecules being more packed together. I could be wrong, and I think you did hit the nail on the head with the molecules, yet I wonder still, as it was thin.

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by Mr Fixit on June 19th, 2009

This cloud was normal, but had evidence of wind affecting it, as it was spread out, and yet was just a little one, and I had opportunity to watch it for about a half minute.

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by Mr Fixit on June 19th, 2009